Tag Archives: Art

Art in Naples, Italy

Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte

The Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte on a very grey, wet day. Fortunately the rain held off until we were safely inside

Located in the grand Palace of Capodimonte, the National Museum of the same name hosts special exhibitions as well as an extensive permanent collection displayed in exquisitely decorated rooms, which reminded us of the style, if not the scope, of the Hermitage in St Petersberg.

Royal Apartments, Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte, Naples, Italy

The Royal Apartments includes 18th century furniture, such as this table with numbered squares of different marble on the top, like a samples book for kitchen tops!

Started in 1738 by King Charles VII, then King of Naples and Sicily, initial plans for a hunting lodge were extended in favour of a larger Royal Palace to house his growing entourage and also somewhere to put the recently inherited Farnese Art Collection after the death of his mother, Elisabetta Farnese. We saw some of the large marble statues of the same Farnese Art Collection when we visited the the Archeological Museum.

Triptych with scenes from the Passion, Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte, Naples, Italy

The National Collection takes up most of the palace, and comprises art that ranges from the 13th to the 18th centuries. Among the rooms dedicated to religious art this one stood out as it’s from England! “Triptych with scenes from the Passion”, 2nd half of the 15th century

The Flagellation of Christ by Caravaggio, 1607, Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte, Naples, Italy

We continued our trail of Caravaggio from Malta with a highlight of the museum’s permanent collection – “The Flagellation of Christ” by Caravaggio, painted in Naples in 1607

Royal rooms, Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte, Naples, Italy

One of the many grand royal rooms gave us a break from painting and statue fatigue, this one is the ballroom and we thought it appropriate to waltz through it. Without music

Julie admiring works of the permanent collection, Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte, Naples, Italy

Julie admiring works of the permanent collection. We also enjoyed the huge collection of banquet porcelain and the 3 rooms of armour and weaponry

Rainy day at the Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte, Naples, Italy

A good day to be inside.. we saw flashes of lightning and heard huge crashes of thunder during our visit. We waited in the cafe for a lighter spell before heading home!

Pio Monte della Misericordia

View of the Pio Monte della Misericordia church from the little choir on the first floor, with Caravaggio’s “The Seven Works of Mercy” in pride of place above the altar

The Pio Monte della Misericordia, loosely translated as the “Pious Mount of Mercy”, is a charitable brotherhood founded in August 1601 by seven young nobles, who met every Friday at the Hospital for Incurables and ministered to the sick. Through their own donations of time, money and encouragement, they built a reputation and with a little help established an institution and commissioned a small church.

"The Seven Works of Mercy" by Caravaggio, Pio Monte della Misericordia, Naples, Italy

Close up of “The Seven Works of Mercy” by Caravaggio. He was originally commissioned to produce seven separate paintings, but presented a single painting depicting all 7 works instead. They are: Bury the dead; Visit the imprisoned, and feed the hungry; Shelter the homeless; Clothe the naked; Visit the sick; and Refresh the thirsty

Today the small circular church and attached museum is famous for the altarpiece that was commissioned for it entitled “The Seven Works of Mercy” by Caravaggio. We’d picked up Caravaggio’s trail in Malta where he’d fled after an altercation in Italy, and so we felt like we were retracing his steps as he returned to Italy through Sicily.

Brotherhood meeting table, Pio Monte della Misericordia, Naples, Italy

This is the table the brotherhood met at every week to discuss the activities of the association. Today it’s housed in the museum rooms surrounding the church

An interesting part of the museum’s collection is a room filled with an artists example’s of compositional elements such as depictions of saints in various postures. It hadn’t really occurred to us that when commissioning artworks the painter might have such a ‘catalogue’ to call upon to help the commissioner decide. The museum’s information also explained that the artist would often produce rough sketches of the overall composition before starting work on the final painting.

Compositional artworks, Pio Monte della Misericordia, Naples, Italy

The contents of Francesco de Mura’s studio were donated to the brotherhood, and included these compositional artworks used to help clients decide on elements of their commissioned paintings. The four smaller paintings of the same subject have clearly visible numbers painted in the bottom corners

Cappella Sansevero

Inside the Chapel of Sansevero, Naples, Italy

Behind a large but otherwise unimposing doorway in a Neapolitan back street is the delightful Chapel of Sansevero. Photo source: Museo Sansevero

Originally built in 1590 as a family chapel and later converted to a burial chapel, the Cappella Sansevero or Chapel of Sansevero was given its final elaborate decor by the 7th Prince of San Severo, Raimondo di Sangro who asked his ancestors not to alter it in his will.

Known as an inventor, soldier, writer, scientist, alchemist and freemason, Raimondo was a prolific experimenter and re-designed the family chapel adorning it with astounding works of art such as the sculptures of his mother and father that take pride of place either side of the alter.

Sansevero Statues, Cappella Sansevero, Naples, Italy

Raimondo di Sangro commissioned many works to embellish the family chapel, such as these figures which continue the theme of virtues but also represent his parents. Photo source: Museo Sansevero

However, the most famous piece he commissioned is by Giuseppe Sanmartino called The Veiled Christ. A masterpiece of marble sculpture that depicts the body of Christ under a fine veil..

The Veiled Christ by Giuseppe Sanmartino, Cappella Sansevero, Naples, Italy

The Veiled Christ by Giuseppe Sanmartino is a masterwork of sculpture. It’s not without controversy though, as Raimondo di Sangro had a reputation for trickery and not revealing the workings of his experiments. It is believed that the material or process used for The Veiled Christ is of his invention and it has an uncharacteristically high gloss sheen to it. He destroyed a lot of his records before he died so we will never know for sure. Regardless, it is beautiful to behold. Photo source: Museo Sansevero

Besides the amazing works of sculpture, another marble marvel caught our imagination. The original floor of the chapel consisted of a repeating geometric pattern with a dividing white marble line that was apparently unbroken. Said to represent the path to enlightenment, it was sadly broken beyond repair by an earthquake and only fragments of the floor remain.

The original floor of the Cappella Sansevero, Naples, Italy

The original flooring of the main chapel was this grand 3-dimensional grey marble. Photo source: Museo Sansevero

Via San Gregorio Armeno – “Nativity Street”

The narrow, busy Via San Gregorio Armeno, otherwise known as Nativity Street because almost every shopfront is a model factory

Not a museum as such, the street near Cappella Sansevero has long been home to workshops that make models primarily for elaborate nativity scenes. The street has a long history of modelling, as it was home to a statue of Ceres in the Classic era which was worshipped by leaving small clay figures that were produced in the vicinity.

Large Nativity Model, Via San Gregorio Armeno, Naples, Italy

One of the biggest nativity scenes we saw was this one at the back of a shop that showed off all of the models they make – each figure is about 1 ½ inches tall

Today, most of the models are still made of clay and it was a nice change from the traditional arts of sculptures and paintings to see a sort of living art on display.

Nativity Street model collage, Via San Gregorio Armeno, Naples, Italy

We liked the variation of the model subjects as they weren’t just limited to the Christian nativity. Clockwise from top-left: Joseph; Camel-mounted wise man; box of un-painted figures and body parts; One model maker had a stand of celebrities, here are our very own Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (let’s just ignore the hair colour of baby George that points towards the father being Prince Harry rather than Prince William..)

Museo d’Arte contemporanea DonnaREgina (MADRE)

The not-so-easy-to-find MADRE Museum of Contemporary Art is worth the hunt

We’ve visited quite a few modern art museums on our travels thus far, and we thought the Museo MADRE would be a nice change from the wonderful old architecture and baroque masterpieces. That is if we could find it! Our tourist map showed it on the main Via Foria and we saw the banners but couldn’t find the entrance anywhere nearby, so we stopped to ask someone who read the address on said banners and gestured that it was the parallel street south of Via Foria!

Line of Chance by Richard Long, Museo MADRE, Naples, Italy

The first piece we liked was ‘Line of Chance’ by Richard Long, a thick border line painted near the ceiling then covered in mud which is left splattered down the walls. We liked that the space had been used by schoolchildren and there were a couple of small hand prints on the walls near the sinks

Spirits by Rebecca Horn, Museo MADRE, Naples, Italy

One of my favourites was this installation of skulls, lights and moving mirrors called ‘Spirits’ by Rebecca Horn. Imagine three sides of the room with these at varying eye-height, the light and partial reflections slowly moving. Wonderfully weird! Photo source: Museo MADRE

Dark Brother by Anish Kapoor, Museo MADRE, Naples, Italy

Another piece that stood out was this one called ‘Dark Brother’ by Anish Kapoor. It’s an optical illusion that appears to be both a black hole in the ground, and a painted black rectangle. We tried looking at it from different angles behind the glass barrier but we couldn’t discern which it was. The museum staff member took a bit of delight watching us trying to work it out, and it reminded us of James Turrell’s work on Naoshima, Japan. Photo source: Museo MADRE

Gallerie d’Italia, Palazzo Zevallos Stigliano

The sumptuous central foyer of the Gallerie d’Italia, Palazzo Zevallos Stigliano. The art museum is on the second floor to the right

The Palazzo Zevallos Stigliano is 1 of 3 Gallerie d’Italia operated by the Cultural Project of the banking group Intesa Sanpaolo, the 2nd largest banking group in Italy. The beautiful baroque palace on via Toledo, the main shopping high street in Naples, is home to a small but important art collection that includes another of Caravaggio’s works..

The Martyrdom of Saint Ursula by Caravaggio, Gallerie d’Italia, Palazzo Zevallos Stigliano, Naples, Italy

The Martyrdom of Saint Ursula by Caravaggio, thought to be the last picture he painted before he died en-route to Rome

Thought to be his last work, The Martyrdom of Saint Ursula depicts the moment Ursula, having refused the Hun king’s marriage request is dispatched by an arrow from his bow.

Gallery, Gallerie d’Italia, Palazzo Zevallos Stigliano, Naples, Italy

We really liked the small, intimate and lavishly decorated gallery rooms that didn’t leave us overwhelmed

Other highlights of this small but well-laid out museum where the Judith beheads Holophernes by Louis Finson, one of the first flemish Caravaggisti (to paint in the style of Caravaggio), and a small exhibition of Vincenzo Gemito whose work we saw in a special exhibition at the Capodimonte – the first museum we visited in Naples!

Special exhibit of Vincenzo Gemito, Gallerie d’Italia, Palazzo Zevallos Stigliano, Naples, Italy

The exhibit of Vincenzo Gemito was one of our favourites, even though we’d seen a lot of his work in the Capodimonte earlier in our stay

Archaeological Ruins of Pompeii, Italy

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Pompeii is one of the most famous archaeological sites in the world, and almost everyone knows the gist of the story of this city which was buried under ash when Mt Vesuvius erupted in 79AD. We’ve long wanted to visit, and it was near the top of our list of things to do in Naples (after eating pizza of course). We had to wait for almost a week into our stay for a day with no forecast of rain but it was worth being patient.

Vesuvius is visible from many places in the city. Here it looms over the Forum, the main public square

Vesuvius had been rumbling for several days, maybe weeks, before it erupted violently on 24th August 79AD, and many of the townspeople (an estimated 17,000 from a total of around 20,000) had already fled to safety leaving only those too poor, sick or otherwise unable to move. A violent tremor signalled the start of the eruption, and lapilli, small pumice rocks, rained down to a depth of three metres in just a few hours. Many were crushed as houses collapsed under the weight, those who survived were killed by the blasts of toxic gas and ash which followed and completely buried the city.

One of Pompeii’s main streets, Via dell’Abbondanza

During the early excavations, archaeologists found some cavities containing bones and the director, Giuseppe Fiorelli, had the genius idea to pour plaster of paris into them to form the shapes of the people buried in the ash. We’d heard about this before our visit and expected them to be positioned where they had fallen but for the most part the casts were in glass cases which I suppose makes sense from a preservation point of view. One of the rare information boards had a quote from a 19th century visitor describing them as “not art, nor imitation; it is the bones and relics of the flesh and clothing mixed with plaster” and this really hit home when we saw one cast where the skull was visible.

Casts of thirteen bodies which were found in a garden in Pompeii, now dubbed the Garden of the Fugitives

This cast, called the ‘Muleteer’ because he was found near the skeleton of a donkey, is kept in a storage area beside the Forum

As well as plaster casts of people, archaeologists have been able to make casts of animals such as a dog, as well as wooden items which have decyaed away over the centuries including a cupboard and a door. Even more ingeniously, more modern archaeologists have made casts of the roots of plants which decomposed under the ash enabling the reconstruction of whole gardens.

Many of the houses have peaceful courtyard gardens

Pompeii had a clever water supply system. Water was collected in the hills and carried to the city by aqueduct. Because the city is on a gentle slope, taps throughout the streets could be fed by gravity. Most of them still work and, as the water is potable, they were handy for refilling our water bottle.

Many of the streetside taps still dispense clean water

Unfortunately the sewerage system wasn’t so advanced and so waste liquids were thrown out into the street and washed downhill meaning that residents needed high pavements and stepping stones to prevent them treading in something they’d rather not. Donkey carts passed between the stepping stones and cart ruts are worn into the cobbled streets in many places.

Us on the high stepping stones across one of Pompeii’s streets

Not all of the site’s buildings are open every day – it is dependent on archaeology work, restoration, and staff availability so it’s not possible to make an exhaustive list of what you want to see before you arrive. We found a few recommendations online but pretty much just tried to tour as many as we could of the buildings that were open on the day we visited (helpfully assisted by the lady in the information office marking them up on our map). For that reason we never knew quite what we were going to find when we went into an open door.

We were often surprised by the vibrancy and good condition of the frescoes – it’s hard to believe that these are 2000 years old and that they were painted onto someone’s living room wall – it beats wallpaper any day!

We liked peering through gaps into some of the closed buildings to spot sights like this fountain undergoing restoration

When we visited the Stanze al Genio museum in Palermo, our guide Claudio showed us a tile picture of a dog and told us that it was based on a famous Pompeii mosaic so we were keen to find the original. It’s situated at the entrance to the ‘House of the Tragic Poet’ and the words on it, ‘Cave Canem’ translate as ‘Beware of the Dog’. It’s a bit classier than the little plaques used nowadays!

The original ‘Beware of the dog’ mosaic in Pompeii (left) and the tile version at Stanze al Genio

As well as houses there are a wide variety of commercial buildings – temples, public baths, fast food joints, theatres, even brothels! The wall paintings in the brothel are pretty explicit and apparently served as either a ‘shopping list’ or as inspiration for patrons! I really liked the thermopolia or snack bars, a U-shaped counter set with a number of terracotta pots from which food was served.

Some of Pompeii’s public buildings (clockwise from top left): Temple of Apollo; lavishly decorated entrance to the men’s section of the Stabian baths; I joked to Andrew that these were giant spaghetti measurers and then we found out that it was actually the weights and measures house; us in the smaller of Pompeii’s two theatres

Thermopolium snack bar counter

For us one of the unexpected features of the site was the cemetery. Somehow we hadn’t thought about the fact that people had lived and died there before it was buried in ash. Roman law stated that burials should always be outside the city limits and so the grand tombs line the road outside the Nocera Gate. This also ensured that there would be plenty of passers-by to make offerings and pay tribute as they passed.

This tomb was for freed slaves. Each niche contains either a bust of the deceased or a stone representation of a head

We rented audioguides to help us understand what we were seeing as we wandered around Pompeii and found them very useful as there are few information boards around the site. However it became a running joke that the explanation would say something along the lines of “The item displayed here is a replica, and the original can be found in the Archaeological Museum in Naples” and so to get the full story we thought that we should visit there as well…

On the first floor were several rooms with frescoes from Pompeii. The painted plaster has been cut out of the wall and put into frames for display. We thought they looked to be much brighter and of even better quality than most of the ones that we saw at Pompeii itself although we weren’t sure whether that was because the best examples were the ones chosen to be removed or because the museum’s environment was better for their preservation.

‘The Sacrifice of Iphigenia’ comes from ‘The House of the Tragic Poet’ where we saw the ‘Beware of the Dog’ mosaic

Sometimes the look of a whole room could be reconstructed from its frescoes

I really enjoyed looking at the exhibit containing smaller items unearthed from Pompeii including pots and pans, door knockers, oil lamps, pottery and even glassware. Some of the glasses had been distorted into strange shapes by the heat but I was surprised that any at all had survived intact.

Clockwise from left: metal moulds and cookware; vitrines containing pottery items; a glass perfume flask

Apart from the ‘Beware of the Dog’ mosaic the only other one that we remembered was a replica in the ‘House of the Faun’. We sought out the original in the museum and were surprised to find lots of mosaics on display and of breathtaking detail. Even after seeing the floors at Villa Romana del Casale I’m still amazed at how good the Roman craftsmen were.

The mosaic of travelling musicians from the Villa of Cicerone was one of our favourites

After looking through the exhibits containing items from Pompeii we returned to the ground floor for a look around the collection of antique marble statuary acquired by the Farnese family in the 16th century and a whirlwind five minutes checking out the exquisitely carved semi-precious stones called the Farnese Gems (the guard was about to lock up for the day when we arrived but he let us in for a peak).

Andrew admiring the Farnese Bull. It was originally carved from a single piece of marble although it has needed a fair amount of sticking back together and replacement pieces over the centuries

We’re really pleased that we visited the Archaeology Museum as well and definitely think that we did them in the right order. Going to Pompeii first gave us an overview of the setting and context of the artefacts so that we could better appreciate the museum, and I think if we’d done them the other way round it might have given us an unrealistic expectation of what we would find at the archaeological site in terms of quality of artwork.

Highlights of Palermo, Sicily

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Having enjoyed our time in the second largest Sicilian city of Catania, we were equally looking forward to Palermo which is the largest. Anticipating that it would be a larger version of the same, we weren’t at all disappointed, there’s more to do and more to see. Also like Catania we found ourselves a nice little apartment with a kitchen so we could make full use of the Sicilian markets when were weren’t out trying the local street food.

Palermo Cathedral

The massive Palermo Cathedral

Built in 1185 on the site of a former Byzantine church, Palermo’s cathedral, like the Monreale Cathedral that closely preceeded it, is a hodgepodge of the styles and influences of multicultural Sicily: Norman, Arab, Gothic, Baroque, and Neoclassical.

Inside the huge Palermo Cathedral. Quite restrained in its decoration given its proximity to Cefalù and Monreale

A nice surprise was the international nativity scene made up of models from around the world!

The Sacristy of the Canons was given over to an international collection of nativity scenes. We tried to spot as many as we could from countries we’ve been to! We especially liked the Panda bears of China and although we haven’t been to the North Pole, we liked the Polar Bear but wondered why there was a giant penguin there.. (they’re native to the South Pole)

We were staying not far from the cathedral, and even though we passed nearly every day, we couldn’t help taking photos of the outside apse end!

Outside of the nave at the rear of the cathedral was our favourite part, we just couldn’t help taking photos of it every time we passed!

Enoteca Sicilia – Wine Museum of Rural Life

Enoteca Silicia - Wine Museum, Palermo, Sicily

The private wine museum in Palermo

On our first night in Palermo we found our local enoteca or wine shop, run by a young guy who, while filling up a two litre water bottle with Nero d’Avolo for us gave us a ¾ plastic cup to taste, then the same of the house white, followed by a small taster of the house moscato! As we’d enjoyed them all we decided it’d be a good idea to find out more about how Sicilian wine is made so we booked a tasting at the Enoteca Sicilia.

Barrel of Perpetuo, 1928, Enoteca Silicia - Wine Museum, Palermo, Sicily

Guido Ferla explained that every year 10% of this barrel has been taken out and replaced with 10% new wine since 1928. It smells fantastic!

This very impressive collection of all things wine related appears to be very much a personal labour of love. The underground Aladdin’s caves are packed with memorabilia, tools, bottles, labels, maps and has a small bar where we received a small glass of wine. The President of the museum, Mr Guido Ferla met us and explained, in English, that he didn’t speak English, which is fine with us and so we thought we’d spend the next hour or so wandering through the museum on our own. However, he then proceeded to show us around pointing out some of the more interesting artefacts with a little English explanation! It was as good as some of the tours we’ve had that are advertised as being in English!

Anything and everything related to wine and wine making, the museum is a treasure-trove

We came away with a much more rounded appreciation of Sicilian wine making and its history, and a book of wine-related quotations and thoughts put together and signed by the President himself!

Martorana (Church of Santa Maria dell’Ammiraglio)

The Martorana overlooks Piazza Bellini and is kind of tucked out of the way as it is surrounded by other large imposing buildings

Dating back to 1143, construction of this little church was started after the Cefalù Cathedral, but before the Monreale Cathedral and the major work on the Palermo Cathedral. And, like those, it was on our must-see list because of its amazing ceiling..

Wow! What a ceiling!

The apse is decorated in beautiful golden mosaics like the cathedrals of Palermo, Cefalù, and Monreale, but the nave is covered in delightfully delicate pastel murals

The smaller size of Martorana made it easier to take in a lot more of the decoration compared to, say, Monreale.

Close up of the Martorana ceiling, Palermo, Sicily

Close up of the ceiling of the Martorana, murals in the foreground and golden mosaics in the background

The Martorana is a stunning little gem of a church, but we found it difficult to find reliable opening times, so for future reference here they are from the sign at the front door: 9:30-13:00, then 15:30-17:30, or during festivities: 09:00-10:30.

Palazzo Riso – Contemporary Art Museum of Sicily

Exhibition Hall, Palazzo Riso, Palermo, Sicily

Exhibition hall at Palazzo Riso. The satellite dishes in the foreground are sitting on speakers playing a recording of the Syrian riots, with a pile a couscous on them. I’m in the background watching the video of a wall being shot by the artist

Feeling a little church and cathedral’d out, we took a change of pace and picked Palazzo Riso, the most central of the modern art museums in Palermo. We’re not sure if the building restoration works have impacted the displays, as the galleries seem confined to one wing and spill out into the staircase, but regardless we felt a little underwhelmed or un-inspired by the works on display.

"Souvenir #3 Family Portrait" by Loredana Longo, Palazzo Riso, Palermo, Sicily

“Souvenir #3 Family Portrait” by Loredana Longo. I’m glad we’re not related..

However, there were 2 standout pieces; firstly, a section of wall of photo frames peppered with bullet holes. In the centre was a small screen that showed a video of the ‘creation’ where the artist quickly circled the faces before opening up with a handgun taking out almost all of the portraits with admirable marksmanship.

Wardrobes, Palazzo Riso, Palermo, Sicily

Our favourite piece in Palazzo Riso – wardrobes hanging from the ceiling. Sadly, we don’t know who it’s by

But our favourite was undoubtedly the massive upstairs room full of wardrobes hung from the ceiling. We don’t know why it was done or what it means, but we like it!

Palazzo Abatellis – Regional Gallery of Sicily

Entrance courtyard of Palazzo Abatellis, Palermo, Sicily

The peaceful courtyard of the Palazzo Abatellis, home of the Regional Gallery of Sicily

The Regional Gallery of Sicily, more commonly known as Palazzo Abatellis was a highlight for us because of the great use of space. Formerly the residence of Francesco Abatellis, the port master of the Kingdom of Sicily and built in the 15th century, the building was given over to be used as a monastery after the death of the last family member. Following restoration after being bombed in 1943, it reopened as a gallery of medieval art.

Trionfo della Morte, or The Triumph of Death, a huge fresco painted around 1446 depicts Death launching arrows at all levels of society

As well as the good use of space, there were 3 pieces that stood out for us in the museum, firstly the Trionfo della Morte, The Triumph of Death, which depicts an indiscriminate Death taking lives regardless of social status. We understood it was commissioned for the entranceway of a hospital!

The second was the room displaying the giant cathedral crosses that are decorated on both sides. As they’re usually hung high in the nave, it was nice to be able to see examples of them up close.

Croce Dipinta, or painted cross. Typically one side shows the crucifixion and the other the Resurrection

The final piece is the Annunciata, or Virgin Annunciate by Antonella da Messina, a vivid painting of Mary interrupted by the Angel of the Annunciation. It reminded us of the Mona Lisa as it’s a lot smaller in real life than we were expecting.

Annunciata by Antonella da Messina, Palermo, Sicily

“Annunciata” by Antonella da Messina, one of our favourite pieces in the Regional Gallery of Sicily

Just outside the Palazzo Abetallis I spotted a graffiti version of it..

Graffiti version of the Annunciato, Palermo, Sicily

A clever graffiti version of the Annunciata, just outside the Regional Gallery of Sicily where you can see the real thing!

Teatro Massimo

The Teatro Massimo in Palermo, the name literally means Maximum Theatre, but translates as Playhouse

We didn’t see a performance at the Teatro Massimo, but it makes it into our highlights list because it’s the filming location of the climactic final scenes of the Godfather part III.

Orto Botanico di Palermo – Palermo Botanical Garden

Sign above an old information kiosk that is slowly being reclaimed by the garden

Palermo also has a pretty big Botanical Garden, and as we’re big fans of parks and gardens we spent an hour or so wandering through the varieties and exhibits on show. Obviously it’s not at its best in the winter months, but nevertheless it was a pleasant escape from the hum of the city scooters, and we especially liked their water-species pool which was full of lilies and home to lots of terrapins too!

Outdoor aquarium, Orto Botanico, Palermo, Sicily

We liked the clever outdoor aquarium with its separate concentric circles

Terrapin, Orto Botanico, Palermo, Sicily

.. which was also home to sunbathing terrapins!

We were surprised by how eclectic the collection was – we saw plants and trees from as far away as Ethiopia and the Canary Islands, including a species of tree that has leaves and spikes that grow up the trunk – something we’ve never seen before!

Alluaudia procera from Madagascar, Orto Botanico, Palermo, Sicily

The very strange Alluaudia procera from Madagascar, is a tree without branches, instead the foliage grows up the trunk protected by spikes!

L’Associazione Culturale Stanze al Genio

Entrance hallway, Stanze al Genio tile museum, Palermo, Sicily

The entrance hallway of the amazing Stanze al Genio (“Rooms of Genius”) private tile collection. Wow!

Not strictly a museum, this is actually a private collection of Neapolitan and Sicilian floor tiles from the 16th century onwards displayed in the owner’s apartment. Like the Enoteca Sicilia, viewing is by appointment only so the owner can disappear upstairs to his office while one of his very knowledgeable guides walks you through the history of floor tile design and manufacture. I know, on the face of it, it sounds as dull as watching clay dry, but as soon as we stepped through the door into the hallway we saw why this is the highest rated attraction on TripAdvisor for Palermo.

Living room, Stanze al Genio tile museum, Palermo, Sicily

Every room is floor to ceiling mounted floor tiles, complemented with modern and antique art. We walked through each room 4 or 5 times and saw something new every time

Dining room, Stanze al Genio tile museum, Palermo, Sicily

Some floors were commissioned by very rich nobles such as this one, which shows off another of the owner’s properties. We were told it’s extremely rare to find and then to successfully recover complete sets like this

The collection is loosely organised by age, and the owner swaps them around occasionally. The guides try to catch him out by swapping the odd tile around too, but we’re told the owner always spots them!

Kitchen / Dining room, Stanze al Genio tile museum, Palermo, Sicily

Most of the collection consists of single tiles, which creates a beautiful background

Savitsky Museum, Nukus, Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan

Naoshima, the art island of Japan

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The night before we left Yakushima, we met Georg, a young and enthusiastic Swiss architect who was full of praise for Naoshima when we told him we were heading there next. For years now I’ve been building my perfect house in my head, collecting inspiration from designs, materials and nice touches I’ve seen, and I asked Georg’s advice about how best to convey my ideas to an architect, which started a fascinating conversation..

Georg politely explained that I’d be employing the architect to do the design, so it’s far better to think about how I intended to live in the house, and to mention anything that affects the allocation of space, for example, where will I spend most of my time? Is the kitchen more important to me than the lounge? What impression should the house make from the outside?

Naoshima is covered in art, like this giant red pumpkin by Yayoi Kusama that greets you at the ferry terminal

Then we started talking about materials and found we shared what some might call an unhealthy fondness for bare concrete. Georg showed me the works of architects who use concrete in their designs, and specifically those of Japanese architect Tadao Ando who is known for his ‘brutalist’ style of concrete, glass and steel, and I knew I was going to enjoy Naoshima.

Tadao Ando

Tadao Ando is self-taught and one of the most famous architects in Japan. He has designed buildings across the world, including Piccadilly Gardens in Manchester (UK), Fort Worth’s Modern Art Museum in Texas (USA), and of course, many buildings in Japan such as the Tokyo Skytree, the Omotesando Hills shopping complex and three large museum spaces on Naoshima.

Omotesando Hills shopping complex in Tokyo. One continuous inclining walkway links all the shops. Photo source: Wikipedia

Chichu Art Museum

Built into the top of a hill, the Chichu Art Museum incorporates a number of permanent installations, and is itself a work of art

Chichu Art Museum. Ando's design meant the museum building is all underground. Source: Benesse Art Site Naoshima

Chichu Art Museum. Ando designed the museum to be underground while still making use of natural light. Source: Benesse Art Site Naoshima

We loved the mix of geometry and materials, the long underground entrance corridor of concrete reminded me of the D.T. Suzuki zen museum in Kanazawa, and ended with a square, open air staircase whose bannister concealed the stairs so from the ground it just looked like a large square atrium. After climbing the stairs, another long open air corridor ends with a triangular courtyard which we descended to access the gallery spaces.

The triangular courtyard of the ChiChu musem. This one has stones at the bottom, the square one had long grass

We thought it worth visiting just for the museum building, but there are site specific installations by 3 artists, including a stunning off-white room of natural light built specifically for 5 of Monet’s Water Lilly series paintings, 2 immersive installations by James Turrell, an American artist who presents light as art, and a large stepped room containing a huge sphere surrounded by various geometric cricket-stumps by Walter De Maria which was Julie’s favourite.

Lee Ufan Museum

The Lee Ufan Museum on Naoshima. Pointy

The Lee Ufan Museum is a small museum, again designed by Ando and again built into the landscape. We liked the contrast – the large open space outside with the huge standing column gave a feeling of openness and accessibility, but this initial feeling is quickly betrayed by the claustrophobic passageway of 18-foot high concrete walls one must traverse before arriving at the museum’s underground entrance. Inside, the journey through the gallery spaces continue the theme of contrast: light then dark, large then small, each carefully planned for the exhibition of one of Lee Ufan’s installation pieces, until the final room.

Medium in size, with natural light, wooden flooring and rounded corners, the final room is juxtaposed with the rest of the museum, a final contrast if you will, and it invites contemplation because it’s designed as a mediation space. I really liked this – a dedicated space where you are encouraged to sit for a while and reflect on the art and architecture you’ve just experienced.

Lee Ufan – Shadow of Stone. Source: kamel mennour

Of the artwork, I enjoyed the mix of Lee’s work – the large abstract block paintings of the ‘Encounter’ room (entitled ‘From Point’ and ‘From Line’), and the ‘Shadow of Stone’ piece where a video was projected into the shadow of a knee-high stone was captivating for both its content and execution.

Benesse House Museum

Benesse House Museum. Source: Benesse House

The original museum project of the island, the Benesse House Museum is part of the larger Benesse complex that also includes an exclusive hotel, park and a beach. While still incorporating permanent artwork installations such as the Oval (which, sadly, is only open to guests of the hotel), the Benesse Museum is more of a conventional contemporary exhibition space.

Benesse House Museum - Some of our favourite pieces from the exhibition. Yukinori Yanagi 'The World Flag Ant Farm' (source: Benesse Art House Site); Bruce Nauman '100 Live and Die'; Yoshihiro Suda 'Weeds' (source: Big in Japan)

Benesse House Museum – Some of our favourite pieces from the exhibition. Yukinori Yanagi ‘The World Flag Ant Farm’ (source: Benesse House); Bruce Nauman ‘100 Live and Die’; Yoshihiro Suda ‘Weeds’ (source: Big in Japan)

Our favourites were the wall of country flags made from painted sand and joined up into a giant ant-farm, which meant the ants had completely destroyed some of the flags (we tried to identify as many as we could!); the flashing neon wall of words and the very cute piece by Yoshihiro Suda called ‘Weeds’, which look like small weeds growing out of the building itself!

Art House Project

Minamidera, houses my favourite exhibit of Naoshima – ‘Backside of the Moon’ by James Turrell. Photo source: The Unhatched Egg blog

The Art House Project is a collection of regular dwellings that had been abandoned, and were subsequently turned into art installations. A single ticket buys entrance to all 6 of them, and it was fun to cycle between them, as they’re all located in the small port town of Honmura.

We’d spent most of our day at the bigger museums, but we had just enough time to quickly visit each house. On the advice of the ticket staff, we made a beeline for the Ando designed Minamidera, as entrance was limited by number and to 15 minute blocks – which immediately piqued our interest – that and it was built for another James Turrell installation..

While we waited for our turn, we zipped off to see the others before returning for what would be my favourite single exhibit of the island.

Haisha, the ‘scrapbook’ art house

Julie really liked the crazy Haisha, which is aptly described as a ‘scrapbook’ and includes a giant plastic statue of liberty, and we both really liked Kadoya with its pool of submerged LED numbers counting down at different speeds.

Finally, Minamidera. We were led into the short end of the building by a handrail because it’s an installation in the dark. Once in, we sit down and are advised to wait about 10 minutes for our eyes to adjust.

10 minutes later, we can now make out two faint lights at either side of the other end of the room, and between them we were asked if we could see the screen – an empty rectangle of grey that looks like a cinema screen. Once we were all able to see it, I was expecting a show to start, and thinking that the show had already begun, I started seeing little stars move across the screen..

Then we were asked to stand up and approach it. What I thought had been stars were actually the blood vessels in my eyeballs, and as we got to the screen we found it was completely uniform in colour. Then came the surprise.

I’d love to tell you what happened next, but this one is better when you experience it for yourself :)

Us with another of Yayoi Kusama’s pumpkins

We thoroughly enjoyed the art and architecture-packed day on Naoshima, but as each museum charges around ¥1,000 (~£6) for entry (or ¥2,000 for Chichu), we spent ¥5,000 (~£30) each, and that doesn’t include lunch, bicycle hire, or the round-trip ferry to get there. Yep, it was an expensive day on our budget, but it was definitely worth it!

two year trip

Andrew and Julie's Travelling Adventures